Across the Worlds
by chachingmel123
Summary: From the 2019 Christmas explosion. A disgrunted fan finds herself being the cause of a Universe where Wally West lives a second life. Never did the newly appoint Flash think his battle with Zoom would lead him to enter another universe. A universe where a grey eyed hero can't stop starting at him.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

How did this happen?

One minute she was fuming about how terrible season 3 of Young Justice had been and the next she was in a white space and in her hand was literally Wally West Soul.

The crystal was blue but she could hear Wally West random talking voice.

She didn't really want to try and find her way back, life sucked for her and this seemed far more interesting than her receptionist life.

Now what to do with this?

Her first thought was to try and return this to the show, but then she remembered how terrible most of the characters had become.

The younger generation had morals, the others?

Not so much.

The only ones still decent were Superboy, black Lightning and Artemis, everybody else was shit.

Did she really want to release Wally into that madness?

Wally was the one who provided moral when Dick came up with a questionable plan, the plan was to have Artemis pretended to be killed by Aqualad to get into his evil daddy's good graces to get intel, was pretty fucked up.

As Dick and the others are now, before Wally wisened up, they would have manipulated and used him.

Batman had shown he still made questionable plans even when the others were telling him to stop.

But if they thought he was from another Reality, he could visit and escape from them.

Wally crystal began to glow.

"Sorry, Wally but you'll have to forget" she said. "You gave up seeing the love of your life, because you trusted your best friend. He is no longer the guy you used to know"

And then his crystal turned red before going back to normal, slowly she let the gem fall onto the ground, the ground consumed it like it was something falling into water.

The world was made.

Wally West, the world's greatest Speedster, sat down to eat breakfast when he saw what was happening on the news.

"We have just been informed that none other than the Supervillain named Zoom has escaped from Prison." Said the news woman.

Wally froze.

What?

He spent two days capturing that guy, what we're the security guards doing?

With a speedster on the loose, a guy can get away with doing anything since they lived in a faster time zone.

He quickly ate lunch and headed to his Flash uniform, yes he was the Flash.

His costume was extra skin tight, he had a lightning bolt emblem on his chest and on his hips were giant lightning bolts and he wore boots.

He put it on, and his muscles really popped out of it making him look fantastic, it was because of this outfit that he had a very large female fan base.

"Time to save the world again" he said, before he ran out.

While he was the slowest speedster in his old life, with his current speed his sacrifice would have never happened.

He quickly found zoom by just seeing the path streaks alone making it super easy to find him.

Zoom was in the middle of pushing some important people into a nuclear power plant.

The guy turned around revealing his red eyes and unsettling skin.

"Flash" said Zoom.

"Zoom, do you really want to tangle with me again?" Said Wally running towards him.

"It is me, who will get my revenge" said Zoom in a creepy and menacing voice, before running away.

Wally made sure the people were on safe ground before running after Zoom.

Zoom got faster.

He got faster.

Zoom got faster.

He got faster.

Both of them kept pushing themselves, reaching speeds that would make the Flash in another reality blush.

And that's when it happened.

They broke the barrier and entered the Speedforce.

Wally blinked as he ran, he saw he was in a light tunnel.

What is this place?

Then he heard it.

The terrible screeches of the rulers of the Speedforce, Time Wraths and they didn't like it when Speedsters entered incorrectly.

When Wally saw a boney figure travelling towards him at an alarming rate, he ran like his life depended on it.

Zoom laughed and said. "Try to keep up, Flash"

And then Zoom exited out of somewhere and he followed.

They exited right onto live-tv as the Outsiders were receiving their medals for the number of meta humans they rehabilitated.

Everybody slowly turned to the two new arrivals.

"A new reality. A new playground, Hero" said Zoom, the mic picking up his voice and it was being broadcasted all over the world.

And that's when they heard it, the screeching of something inhuman followed by the very thing.

When the hero's saw that thing, they went on guard, some protected the civilians.

"Funny thing about Time Wraths, Hero" said Zoom. "They don't like it when Speedsters break into the Speedforce. One touch from it is enough to reduce anybody whether human or alien to ash. It won't stop until it takes one of us" and then he started laughing manicing.

The Time Wrath began to move, heading towards anything and everyone.

Wally was in action immediately.

He went to save as many civilians as he could as he yelled. "Run. If you are touched. You'll die!"

The civilians didn't have to be told twice and ran for it while Zoom laughed, clearly enjoying the chaos.

The time wrath flew to Mrs Martian, Superboy was about to leap in when they heard.

"Touch it and you'll die!" He yelled.

Mrs Martian tried to get through with it, only to get a splitting headache, it screeched even more.

Superboy got her out of there.

Hero's tried throwing weapons at it, the weapons turned old and became ash before their eyes.

Green Lantern tried to use his ring only for it to mysteriously run out of juice.

The thing was super not good.

The only reason why nobody had died yet was because Kid Flash and the Flash had arrived to move people out of the way.

"Cool Other speedsters" he said, before he said to them. "Hey guys, can you help me push this asshole towards it?"

Both seemed shocked.

"People are going to die, if it doesn't get one of us and I'm not the one with the big scary villain laugh" he said.

Both of them agreed to help out.

Suddenly Zoom felt a push forward, however before he could land, there was enough push, than another.

If you want to stop a speedster don't let their feet touch the ground.

Three Speedsters worked together to send another to their doom.

All three were very fast and the Time Wrath noticed Zoom's predicament.

It roared and headed towards him, Wally gave Zoom a final kick in the right direction.

The guy flew right into the Time Wraiths clutches, before all their eyes, the once full of life man began to dry up like a skeleton.

"Flash, you bastard! This isn't over!" Yelled the drying up quickly Zoom.

"Yeah, I think it is" said Wally. "I think the Wraiths are a better warden than a regular person, don't you think?"

And with that Zoom was gone, his mask droop off, his face almost ash like.

Wally walked to the mask and in front of the whole Justice League, Outsiders and nosey people who still hung around to record with their phones, he picked it up and said.

"Cool. Souvenir"

So many faces changed in that moment, that it was commercial.

He turned to the group of hero's and said. "Ah, you guys. You wouldn't happen to have something that can jump through reality would you? I clearly can't go back the way I came"

And then they heard a loud stomach rumble.

It was coming from his stomach.

"Oh and some food" he said, as so many people raised eyebrows at him. "Do you really want a speedster stealing food on your hands?"

We'll they did not.

Beast boy offered his pad, only for him to basically raid the giant fridge and eat everything from fruit to leftover toppings without even microwaving.

He put the animals in the building to actual shame in terms of food manners.

"And you are..?" Said Aquaman.

"The Flash. The fastest man alive" he said, surprising all of them. "We'll, I'm an alternate version of the Fastest man alive. My civilian name must be kept under wraps" before he said. "Do you guys seriously have no gravy?"

"Can you be less of a pig?" Said Nightwing.

"If I was, I would be slower" said Wally, grinning that Wally grin and Artemis looked like she was having a heart attack before he said. "By the way, why is that Catwoman staring at me?"

They all turned to see Artemis who found out she was busted.

"Could she be memorized by my amazing muscles?" He said, "I bet her superhero name is something cliche like 'Tigress' and her civilian name is even more generic like 'Artemis'"

The moment he said that, a pin could have been heard because the room became deathly silent.

He had frightfully bullseyed Artemis.

He continued to eat and noticed everybody turn to him and he said. "Why isn't anybody telling me, I'm wrong? It was just a joke"

But nobody was laughing.

"Where did you say you were from again?" Said Wonderwoman.

"Didn't say my universe before but it's Universe 328C, I think and it looks like you guys got the means to send me home" he said. "A Motherbox and a father box, both in the same room. It's a really rare sight, it even rarer to see them both integrated into human being so well"

And if the earth could stop spinning, it would have because the shock was so huge.

"What?" Said Beast Boy.

"I can see speeds" said Willy. "And both of them are running Father and Mother Box level processing speeds. Well it is not entirely true, this guy" pointing at Victor. "Has two speeds and one half is getting faster every second. I'll say he has a week max before he's fully Father box"

Everybody was shocked.

Wally kept eating when he heard.

"Can you remove it?" Suddenly the teen said.

"Me?" Said Wally. "I'm no god, kid"

He knew how suspicious it looked if a random guy showed up and could cure something they couldn't.

"However, I can point you in the right direction" said Wally stunning all of them. "His name is Metron. He made those things so he can no doubt remove them."

"What? Really?" Said Victor Stone, the first piece of good news he had in a long time.

"But he's a total douchebag though" said Wally, stunning them again. "He'll rather watch you die in the name of science than help you"

His too good to be true advice, came crashing down once more.

"But what you guys really need is his chair" said Wally, finishing up. "Get yourself in that and it will remove the spirit of the Father box from you." Before he said. "But good luck with that, you can either fail asking for his help or try removing an all powerful being from his chair. Impossible on your own but with superhero numbers, you should be able to accomplish it."

Before he finished and shrugged and said. "But I'm a complete stranger and there is no reason for you to trust me. For all you know, I could just make it worse or this guy doesn't even exist. But if nobody else is offering something effective to you kid, you may want to listen to a stranger for the tiniest amount of hope"

Silence.

"Now, who is Boom tubing me?" He said finishing this week's food. "I'm not just a talker but I know my powers well. I'm not staying in your reality and I don't think any of you want to find out what a fully grown speedster throwing a tantrum is like in a high rising building"

More silence.

"I go from 29 to 6 years old in a flash" he said, "And I'm still found to be hella attractive. Did you know I caught one girl calling me her ninja boyfriend a few years back? Even after a decade I'm still laughing"

Artemis face changed once again.

He needed to leave now, or Artemis may latch on.

And then the boom tube appeared before him thanks to violet.

"Well, bye Heros" said Wally. "It's a shame, that there is no green arrow superhero girl, huh? I always wondered what she would have done if she hadn't retired and dropped off the face of the planet. I thought she was pretty cute"

And then he ran through, having successfully almost given half the room a heart attack, unknowingly.

There was no doubt about it, that was Wally West.

Another Wally West.

Later, more than a few people went to talk to Violet about keeping that universe closed because they feared that they would never see a certain woman again.

Artemis knew they were doing this, of course.

But it didn't stop her from wondering if she would ever see him again.

But they will.

Because a desperate small team tried his advice and found it to be spot on.

And scene!


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

It worked.

A small group made out of the only decent people on the Hero's side took his advice when it became obvious Victor Stone had mere hours before becoming a father box in flesh and bones.

Metron was real and he was the creator of the boxes.

And just like Wally said, the guy was an asshole, revealing how he only came to Victor because he wanted to see the guy die.

They worked together to get Victor in that chair and saw the spirit of the Fatherbox leave his body and killing the danger immediately.

Victors father was so thankful and Victor himself was thankful.

The former jock wanted to thank the alternate Flash for the advice.

"Absolutely not," said Dick Grayson.

"We are not asking for your permission, Nightwing. We are telling you" said Black Lightning. "After what you and the leaguers just pulled, you are lucky I'm even talking to you at all. I know what you're afraid off but the fact of the matter is. Somebody came into this world and gave us advice, advice that saved a life. But what were we doing? We were waiting for him to die. If I didn't gather a team and act on it, we would have had a humanoid Fatherbox out there in the world. This kid wants to thank him and Violet is all for it. As for Artemis, she will be informed about this trip because it is up to her if she wants to come with us. You will not be told when this will be because this is none of your business. I'm ending the call now"

And then he did, in fact, end it, he turned off the tracker and then turned around to see Conner, Victor, Violet and Artemis.

It was happening right now.

"Ready?" He said.

Violet nodded and opened a boom tube before their fellow Hero's could show up, and then all of them walked through the tube.

However, nobody was expecting to see what was on the other end.

They were met with a futuristic utopia.

Their mouths were open.

"It's beautiful," said Conner, Megan would have loved to see this.

"What year is it?" Said Artemis.

Did this universe Wally pass away, already?

"Its the same year as us," said Victor shocking and stunning everybody.

"Clearly something different happened here that didn't happen in our old one," said Black Lightning. "Let's go into the city and see if we can find him"

They walked into the city, only to get quite the shock.

Boom tubes.

Boom tubes everywhere.

People in this reality used Boomtubes to travel a great distance.

Which explained the knowledge this reality Flash had.

Suddenly they heard.

"And he's done it again!" Said an announcer, they looked up to find a screen with The Flash on it. "The Flash has won this battle. Tough luck for the challenger, but this what we expect from the fastest man alive!"

People gathered around him and he began signing autographs.

"Thank you, I love all my fans," said The Flash, before signing them at superspeed, and taking pictures with his fans.

And then he said goodbye and rushed through the streets at superspeed, only for them to hear a minute later.

"What are you guys doing in my world?"

The voice startled all of them and they turned around to find Wally West standing behind them as if he hadn't died.

Apparently, he had been nearby all this time and had found them when he was speeding along.

And when they tried to explain themselves he said.

"We shouldn't talk here. It's a lot easier to eavesdrop in my world," he said, it was the price to pay for an advanced civilisation.

They followed him to a safe location which was really his house which they entered.

They know immediately who's house this was by the pictures on the walls but what struck them more was what the pictures were of.

There were pictures of his first car, graduation, artwork, pictures of him at company parties etc.

It was really shocking considering their Wally would have plastered his friends, parents, dog and wife all over the house.

He basically had scrapbook worthy pictures on his walls.

"What me to get you guys anything?" He said.

"We don't intend to stay long," said Black Lightning, making him stop.

"Thank you for the advice" Victor suddenly blurted out.

"Ah, so you guys took my advice," he said, flopping down on a comfortable chair. "I honestly didn't think you would trust a complete stranger."

"We didn't but things got worse really fast," said Conner.

"So we were desperate to try anything, a small group was sent out and to our surprise, the information turned out to be spot on," said Artemis. "You were right, that guy is a total douchebag."

Wally's eyes widened and they all realised it was the first time, he had actually heard her speak.

Her voice hadn't changed since she was 11.

"Anyway. Thanks for the help" said Black Lightning. "At least somebody is helping people without ulterior motives"

He looked surprised, clearly, something happened after he left.

"It looks like you guys need some relaxation," he said. "Why don't you stay in my world for a bit? I can take you to the hall of heroes."

Everybody looked at each other, but did they really want to go back so soon and be given grief by awful superheroes?

"Sounds like a plan," said Conner.

And he led them to the nearest Hall of Heros.

They were stunned when they walked inside the place and Victor finally realised that nobody was given him strange looks despite being part robotic.

Wally went to the desk and paid for some badges and gave it to them all before they went inside.

Instead, they were stunned.

Large statues of fallen Heroes were everywhere, they almost tripped when they saw Superman and Batman, and Wonderwoman.

Former or current Leaguers were here.

"Oh, my god." Said Violet, as everybody took a step back from shock.

"That was my reacting inwardly," said Wally not knowing the horror they were experiencing. "These superhero's died in the line of duty. The youngest superhero died 50 years ago"

Everybody was shocked and stunned.

What?

"Wait, 50? How old is this superhero?" Said Conner pointing at Superman.

"From what I recall, this guy would be 165 today," said Wally, stunning them all. "He's a superhero of the past. When he was around, people didn't even know aliens existed. He was truly a relic of his age" before he said. "Anyway, those at the front are all the big hero's that died in the line of duty"

They noticed the Flash wasn't here.

"Wait, a minute. If all these heroes are gone. Who mentored you?" Said Victor.

"Oh, the Hero Association did," he said, dropping another piece of information. "If you can prove to them that you got powers, they will teach you all sorts of stuff and give you your own suit. The Association is filled with retired superheroes and army veterans. Even a machine can be your tutor. However, depending on your circumstances, they may give you a place to stay and money in exchange for putting you out there. They are well aware that you could die since villains exist so they compensate you. Everybody is expected to graduate at 18"

He then continued walking and they followed, they saw superheroes that they had never seen before on display but not as grand as the ones in front.

They saw other people taking pictures and going on tours.

They saw a dazzling sign and as they continued walking, more dazzling signs began to pop up meaning where they were going was a big deal.

They entered a dome and walked through it, only to see a jaw-droppingly huge status of a woman with three eyes and in a badass costume and holding a staff.

"Behold the greatest superhero of all time!" he said.

However, instead of awe, he got silence.

All of them blinked at him owlishly.

"It's Queen Zodiac," he said.

More silence.

"You guys seriously haven't heard of her?" He said shocked beyond belief.

All of them shook their heads.

"Queen Zodiac is like the oldest superhero of all time," he said to them. "They say she's the one who created the whole universe. She pops in and out of existence every once in a while whenever there's a threat so big no other Superhero can handle it. She's the reason the world powers aren't coming at each other throats. With everybody forced to place nice, the standard of living has never been higher"

That was what was different about his universe.

Queen Zodiac existed to make sure manipulative bastards with too much power kept their mouths shut.

"So Lex Luther doesn't exist then?" Said Conner.

"You mean the guy who built a business by disinfecting food? He's a pretty good guy." Said Wally stunning them all before he said. "Anyway, feel free to look around this place. I brought you guys an hour."

And they all split, well he split first and then they did.

Seeing all their mentors just dead in statue form was quite a big blow to them.

Artemis went to green arrow and sighed.

Suddenly she heard.

"So you like Green Arrow, huh?"

She tensed up and looked to find Wally beside her.

"N-No, I jus-" she began.

"You don't have to lie to me," he said. "I'm about 90 per cent sure, your another version of my green arrow girl from years back. I can never forget her voice, both of you sound the same"

And Artemis said quietly. "Well, both of you sound exactly the same"

"Huh, what?" Said Wally.

"Oh, nothing," she said quickly.

"Well, it's kind of weird hearing her voice," he said. "I always loved that green arrowed girl but she was never into me like I was into her. But it must be weird for you, I bet your just friends with the other me."

"Actually," she said, quietly. "He was my husband. He died a few years back, saving the world"

And his eyes grew wide as he said. "I'm so sorry. It must be very awkward meeting me then."

"It's okay. It's actually helping with the grief" she said.

"Well, I would understand why he would do such a thing," he said, stunning her. "If I was about to start a family with the woman I love. I would have sacrificed my life to make sure she lives. Of course, that's if there is nobody else that could help out. I'll do it without hesitation." Before he said. "But I don't have somebody like that. I don't have anybody who I genuinely want to protect, so even if I was in his scenario, I would have boom tubed out. I got no parents, no relatives and I'm not the only speedster here. If I die I'll just be remembered as another statue in a hall like this. I'll be forgotten"

And Artemis said. "You wouldn't be forgotten" surprising him. "I barely know you but I'll feel something if you died. I've already lost a lot of people over the years. Some weren't close to me at all, while others were my best friends. Not a single one of their meant nothing to me."

"Huh," he said. "You really do sound like this Arrow girl. But she was a lot more fierce."

"So what happened to her?" Said Artemis.

"Well, we graduated and she retired. Her family business was more important than being a hero" said Wally. "The sad thing is, I realised I loved her a year later and by then she had already vanished." Before he said. "Is your name Artemis Cook?"

He finally went out with his suspicious.

"Yes..." She said.

"Are you looking for a boyfriend because I'm looking for a girlfriend" he said.

They both stared at each.

"We live in two different reality's," said Artemis.

"I have a mother box." He said.

"But my world can track them," she said.

"My mother box is untraceable," he said. "Perks of being from another world. We can date in both worlds and the universe police can't catch the fastest man alive"

"Don't understate my universe," she said.

"I like challenges," he said.

There was silence amongst them.

And then Conner showed up and told them they had looked through everything.

Everybody left and they passed through shops, a park and then he took them home.

"Let me cook you guys something," he said.

"You cook?" Said Artemis, surprised.

He pulled out a slap of meat and knife, in a flesh the meat had become a stack of cube, each finely cut perfectly.

All of them were surprised.

"Learned that in France," he said before he said. "Sit down and I'll show you the best pasta, you have ever tasted"

They all struggled and went to sit down, he then used technology and his speed to produce a meal in 5 minutes.

Everybody was shocked to see him with a steaming cooked meal.

He put a plate before all them and then he poured the sauce.

"Bon Apetit," he said before he ate a massive plate.

He underestimated how hot it was, and breathed fire.

He ran with fire spewing from his mouth around them.

The sight of a grown man red in the face and spew fire, was really funny.

Violet found herself suffering laughter, and then she realised what she was doing.

Wally ran out, he grabbed water and came back and said.

"Wow, so you guys can laugh," he said.

He surprised all them.

"You guys don't have a mood changer huh?" He said.

"A what?" Said Victor.

"The person who keeps things light," said Wally. "They're the person who makes everybody smile despite going through stressful times. In my training days, we had two mood changers, me and this guy named dick. The team was put through horrible things but we kept the group smiling. A laugh may not seem like much but you'll be surprised how laughing can get you through the toughest of times." Before he said. "Well, of course, the bad stuff doesn't go away but finding a bit of joy even if the reason is stupid, makes the stress a lot easier to bear. Being a superhero comes with its great moments and not so great moments after all."

And to say everybody was shocked, was an understatement.

The did not expect this piece of wisdom to come from his mouth.

"And judging by your reaction, you guys don't have one," said Wally.

"Our superheroes used to have one," said Artemis speaking up. "But he's gone"

Dick did not crack jokes anymore as he advanced in age so it was dark.

And beast boy was seen as immature.

Even the flash of their planet had mellowed somewhat and Shazam was no longer that kid but now a young adult who could transform into a middle-aged man.

There was nobody who cracked jokes like Wally, around.

"Wow. Bummer" he said. "You guys seriously need one."

"And why don't you come with us, then?" Said Conner, stunning him and everybody. "We welcome supers from all realities"

"That's an amazing offer," he said. "But my world needs a Flash, plus, I don't think I'll survive living in a world that is several hundred years behind my own. I like having no wait time when I want to eat ramen noodles and I like showing my Hero ID and being escorted to a five-star hotel immediately. The perks of being a Hero here is just too much. Unless you guys can offer me something better?"

Of course not.

Heroes were being restricted worldwide, everywhere they turned people were arguing with each other on whether they should be here or not while people with power we're playing chess with everybody lives behind the scene.

Imagine a world were superhero can't be a superhero, that was the world, their world had become.

"So you can't offer me anything better? Then I'm this universe Flash, then," he said. "You guys should really get going, you might alert some higher power that your not supposed to be here"

Right.

But then he said. "Boom tube please"

And a boom tube opened right up to the side, it was blue with gold specks.

Everybody's mouth was open.

"If you stay here, I think your mouths will disappear for good," he said. "Feel free to come back but please give me a heads up next time. I almost had a heart attack when I saw you guys"

"We'll do," said Victor as they all began to walk through one by one.

"You cheered us up. Now if only we had a mood changer" said Artemis. "We could all use some permanent cheer."

And then she walked through.

She walked to the other side and the boom tube closed behind her.

And that she felt it.

Something was in her hand.

She opened it and was stunned to see a tiny flip phone and attached to it was the note.

'Press 2 to reach the Sexist Flash alive'

She hadn't rolled her eyes that hard in years but she had to give him credit.

Wally was always open when it came to hitting on a girl and no matter what version of him existed, that will never change.

And scene!


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: Today is my 23rd birthday so yay me. :)

I do not own Young Justice.

Enjoy!

They talked.

Even though the Justice League would freak out if they knew Artemis had a connection to the universe after they confronted them about the parallel world jumping.

They talked about their day, Wally talked about his job, Artemis just liked hearing his voice.

Both of them felt like they had known each other for years.

And boy did the dog spring to the life every time he heard Wally's voice.

The dog already looked years younger and Wally seemed to like the dog as well.

However, they may be able to hide the fact that they were talking, but they couldn't hide the effects talking was having on both of them.

Imagine having somebody cheer you up when your life is awful.

Imagine, knowing there was somebody waiting to talk to you when you get off work.

The positive effect went both ways.

"You seem to be in a good mood lately," said his fellow Businessman and he blinked. "Seeing somebody special?"

Wally rubbed the back of his head and said. "Is it really that obvious? We met by accident, one thing lead to another and now we're talking on the phone every day. I've dated many girls in the past but not a girl like this. There's just something about this girl, that makes my heart skip a beat"

The other looked at him and said. "It looks like you got it bad. But make sure you don't overstep it until you find out if she likes you that much. It's going to be creepy if you suddenly talk to her like a wife"

And he laughed and said. "There's no chance in hell of that. I've known her for a few days. Me, thinking about marriage? I wouldn't be Wally West if I brought a ring, I don't think I'll ever be that serious with a girl"

#Another Reality#

Artemis had come to take care of her mother.

Even though her mother had a caretaker, she still insisted on coming around.

So imagine the woman shock, when she heard her painfully single daughter hum while she prepared dinner.

She hadn't heard her daughter hum in years.

"Did something good happen, lately?" Said the woman suddenly startling her daughter.

"W-Why would you ask that?" Said Artemis, but she couldn't keep the smile from sprouting when the image of Wally appeared in her mind.

"...Artemis, are you blushing?" Said the woman looking shocked to see her adult daughter blush.

"What? No!" she said, trying to cover her face.

One look at her mother made her spill it.

"Okay, it's this guy" she spilled. "We.. kind of...started dating"

She looked at her mother who's mouth was wide.

What?

Did her daughter just say she was dating somebody?

Dating somebody new almost a decade after Wally's death?

Dating somebody after she begged her daughter to try with Will?

The aged woman opened and closed her mouth, unsure what to say before she said. "Artemis...your dating somebody? That's great. So when am I going to meet him?"

"Mom!" She said, with a red face. "I don't even know if we'll work out. Both of us, live in two completely different worlds. We talk on the phone every day because it's so hard for us to visit each other. He's got his responsibilities and I've got mine. I don't think we'll last long at all"

Her mother was silent and said. "Well, even if it doesn't work out, I still want to hear about the man who managed to date my daughter"

"Ur, well," she said. "He's just over 6 foot. He works as a businessman with a good salary." Before she said. "He can be annoying. Like really annoying and childish like you wouldn't believe. But he makes me smile when I'm feeling down, sometimes I don't even have to tell him, he just knows. He also has a really deep side that just comes out of nowhere. He's like really impressive when his deep side takes over. And he knows about me being a superhero, we met when I was fighting"

And her mother said. "I've never heard you describe a guy like that since your previous relationship. You must really like this guy" before the woman teased and said. "So when will I be expecting the grandchildren?"

She went red and said. "Mom. I told you, well never get that far. The distance is too great"

"I don't know, Artemis," said her mother. "Something tells me your going to go all the way with this man. I'm definitely seeing a grandchild in the future." And her daughter rolled her eyes before she said. "Oh, and what's his name?"

Artemis froze and said. "Oh, his name...its...Antonio"

"Antonio?" Said Wally laughing on the other end when she got home. "You told her, my name was Antonio? I have no problem with that name but that sounds hilarious to me."

"Well, I panicked!" said Artemis back in her room. "What was I supposed to say? The name of my dead boyfriend?" Before she said, sadly. "I really loved him. We got a place together, I was really sure that he was going to spring some cheesy proposal on me and I would have loved him for it. We both wanted to start a family but I just could never walk away from the hero life. I had to walk through hell before I realised it wasn't worth it. But when I looked back, he was gone. Even if he tried to forbid me, I would have been a hero behind his back anyway and he knew it. Ever since he died, I've been hating myself ever since. If only I had listened to him or at least forced Dick to change the plan"

"Artemis..." He said. "Nothing good comes from trying to change the past. There are times where I wish I could go back. As a superhero, it's just not possible to save everybody. I'm really sorry about him, but he's a hero, your Earth wouldn't exist without him, right? I wish I could say more, but I just wasn't there. I didn't feel the emotions and I don't want to overstep. But you clearly need a hug, do you want me to come over?"

And she was stunned and said. "What?"

"Do you want me to come over?" He said, "I can move my schedule around a bit, pull a few strings and I can spend a day with you"

Her mouth was open.

"And don't worry about tracking", he said. "My world is like 200 years ahead of yours, I can boom tube right into your home with just an address and nobody but your housemates will know. And besides, my world won't fall apart if I'm not there, there are many superheroes, here. So, want me to come over? I have cake"

And Artemis laughed and told him to bring chocolate.

He then started to childish hum in her ear and she had to beg him to stop even though she was clearly cracking up.

"See you later, babe," he said and then he hung up, not seeing the effect that last word had on her.

And Wally did in fact, try to clear his schedule but then he remembered that a national holiday was coming up, a day where you can spend time with friends and family, it was very convenient that such a thing was so close to him right now and he sent a text to Artemis.

Artemis sent him her address.

He baked cake and packed it up and then he informed the authorities that he would be out of reality for a day.

He then packed a small bag and used the private Boom Tube to get there, it was silent and untraceable.

Walking through he saw a house and pressed the button.

The door opened and he saw Artemis.

"Hey, Babe." He said before he said. "I brought chocolate cake."

Artemis let him in and watched Brucley, the dog stand up slowly at the sight of Wally.

Wally put the cake on the counter as the dog began to slowly make his way to him, once it got a sniff of his natural scent, the dog went crazy with excitement.

Wally was suddenly tackled by the dog but he responded and gave the dog belly rubs.

"And this must be, Brucley," he said, as he showered the dog with love.

"He probably thinks your the other Wally," said Artemis.

"Lucky, guy. He got to come home to this and a beautiful woman. Well, damn," he said, as he enjoyed the dog's attention. "So what are we doing, today? Are we going to stay indoors and enjoy some time together? Or do you plan to have somebody over, other than me?"

"There's nobody coming over," she said. "We have the house to ourselves"

"Great, let's share the cake and watch a cheesy movie," he said. "Of course, I get the biggest slice"

She rolled her eyes and went to find a movie.

When she came back, she saw him tinkering with the tap, he most likely never used a manual tap before in his life.

"Here," she said, helping him.

"Thanks," he said, he washed the knife under the water, at least he managed to use the soap.

He then took two plates and said. "So where are we sitting?"

"The couch,", she said, he went to the couch, and the dog sat near him.

The dog and her watched him struggle and try to turn the tv on.

"You know what? Let me do everything" she said. "I'm thankful that you're trying though"

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before she bent down and put the video into the player.

When she got up, she could have sworn, he had been checking her out just now.

She turned the tv on and sat next to him, and began eating cake.

The distance between them made the air awkward.

He wanted to cuddle her but he respected her feelings.

So imagine his surprise when she moved closer and put her head on his shoulder.

Should he?

He put his arm around her, but she didn't protest.

Instead, they both felt the odd feeling of rightness.

Rightness to be in each other's arms.

"You know, what? This is nice" he said. "No superhero phone call. No work calls. Just us, sitting in front of a tv, watching an old movie with chocolate cake and a dog. We should do this more often"

"You think?" She said. "It is nice" before she said. "It's too bad, I didn't see how nice this was until he was gone."

Suddenly the air between became awkward.

They were both using each other.

He'll, he had stated quiet openly that he was using her because he couldn't date his version but to be constantly reminded that he was six feet under in this universe was just uncomfortable.

Suddenly Artemis said. "I'm sorry"

He was stunned.

"I don't think I'm ready to date yet," she said, moving from him. "Everything about you, just makes me wish you were my Wally. I feel like I'm cheating on him when we snuggle"

There was silence in the room.

"Wow, you really loved this guy, huh," he said, seeing her face. "But it's okay if you don't want to date me. I won't force you to go out with me." Before he suggested. "How about we try to be friends and then we see how we both feel from there?"

Friends?

Before he picked his plate and said. "There is still plenty of friendship cake to go around." Before he said. "Do you know over 50 per cent of all speedster accidents occur when there is a belly fully of cake involved?"

Suddenly Artemis burst out laughing and said. "Well, I better make sure you don't crash then"

Both of them eat a piece.

"Friends?" He said.

"Friends," she said.

"Extremely attractive friend?" he said and she lightly smacked him.

"By the way, what is this movie?" He said, turning to the tv. "A stock motion cyclops fighting stock motion skeletons, what?"

"I don't know. I just took it from the bookcase" said Artemis.

And then a character jumped off a cliff and it just looked so corny and fake.

He burst out laughing.

"Hands down. Best movie of the decade" he said. "This movie is hilarious!"

And Artemis was about to say something when she saw the cheesy 60's fight scene and character's talking as if their robots.

"Okay. This is pretty bad" she admitted.

They ate cake with the dog laying down.

Friends.

They can definitely handle being friends for the time being.


End file.
